Woohoo, first post! I've been thinking...it's a hassle for me to pull my outboard after every use and, realistically, I have nowhere to store it but the trunk of my car. I've been looking at anti-fouling paint in a spray can to paint the the lower so that I can leave it in the water and only pull it once a week to flush and rinse. Are there any downsides to doing this? I would start with a coat of self-etching zinc chromate primer followed by a couple of coats of the anti-fouling in a can.

I suspect my situation is different since my boat was in a slip on a freshwater river last year. However -- everything that touches that river for more than a couple hours comes out with a thick brown slime on it.

I had very good luck with the rattle-can anitifouling paint on my Honda outboard. I just sanded the old antifouling paint once over lightly with some 80-grit paper and sprayed. After the power wash in the fall the lower unit of the engine looked as good as, or maybe even better than, everything else below the water line.

Make sure to mask off your zincs first so they remain unpainted, especially in the salt water!

I suspect my situation is different since my boat was in a slip on a freshwater river last year. However -- everything that touches that river for more than a couple hours comes out with a thick brown slime on it.

I had very good luck with the rattle-can anitifouling paint on my Honda outboard. I just sanded the old antifouling paint once over lightly with some 80-grit paper and sprayed. After the power wash in the fall the lower unit of the engine looked as good as, or maybe even better than, everything else below the water line.

Make sure to mask off your zincs first so they remain unpainted, especially in the salt water!

Scott.

Do you recall how you prepped for the FIRST coat that you ever put on the engine?

Woohoo, first post! I've been thinking...it's a hassle for me to pull my outboard after every use and, realistically, I have nowhere to strore it but the truck of my car. I've been looking at anti-fouling paint in a spray can to paint the the lower so that I can leave it in the water and only pull it once a week to flush and rinse. Are there any downsides to doing this? I would start with a coat of self-etching zinc chromate primer followed bu a couple of coats of the ant-fouling in a can.

The only thing I have read about is to make sure the paint you apply is compatible with aluminum, or whatever lower units are made of.

I take it, your outboard is down in a motor well? There are certainly mechanisms that make it fairly easy to pull one up and hold it there. However, the issue is often being unable to close the hatch over it. Again, a dockside hatch could be fashioned.

That said, if this isn't practical, for sure you should paint the lower unit. I've even seen some paint just the back and lowest part, when they can't tilt it fully out of the water. The effort they seem to go through to match the waterline cracks me up.

I take it, your outboard is down in a motor well? There are certainly mechanisms that make it fairly easy to pull one up and hold it there. However, the issue is often being unable to close the hatch over it. Again, a dockside hatch could be fashioned.

That said, if this isn't practical, for sure you should paint the lower unit. I've even seen some paint just the back and lowest part, when they can't tilt it fully out of the water. The effort they seem to go through to match the waterline cracks me up.

Unfortunately, on my Dolphin at least, there is no room in the motor well to tilt the motor out of the water without cutting a large chunk out of the bottom of the transom.

I am sorry I do not know exactly how the engine was prepped before the first coat of antifouling paint. The engine was put on by the previous owner. If you would really like a first hand account of priming and prepping I can try to contact him.

I am sorry I do not know exactly how the engine was prepped before the first coat of antifouling paint. The engine was put on by the previous owner. If you would really like a first hand account of priming and prepping I can try to contact him.

Scott.

Thanks, but I don't think it's really rocket science. I figure I'll sand the old and peeling paint off, hit with some aluminum primer, and then spray on the anti-foul.

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